Mechanical toy



a MAN/MM KermitEBoAvmeau July 1935- K. E. BOISSONEAU MECHANICAL TOY Filed Feb. 11, 1955 Patented July 2, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,006,881 MECHANICAL 'roY Kermit E. Boissoneau, Spokane, Wash. Application February 11, 1935, Serial No. 5,968

6 Claims. (01. 46-45) I This invention relates to mechanical toys and more particularly to a toy known'as a unicycle rider whereina toy figure is mounted over a single wheel with its legs extending downwardly at opposite sides of the wheel and the feet connected with cranks of a pedal shaft so that when the toy is in use the figure will appearto propel the wheel across a floor or other surface upon which it rests.

One object of the invention is to provide a toy wherein the pedal shaft is fixed to the wheel and rotatably supported by a frame within the wheel so thatit: can be driven by a spring motor also carried by the frame and thus the propelling means for the toy hidden from view so that the rider will appear to operate the wheel instead of' the legs of the figure receiving motion from-the pedal shaft; 7

Another object of the invention is to so mount the frame or support within the hollow wheel that a weightcarried by the support mayremain at the lower end thereof andserve to retain the unicycle and rider in an upright/position. I r

Another object of'theinvention isto so form the wheel'that the unicycle may be caused to travel in a circular path when in motion.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the toy.

Figure 2' is a section taken vertically along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is anenlarged sectional view taken verticallythrough the wheel at right angles to i the view in Figure 2. Q

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3. Y I

Figure 5 is a section taken horizontallythrough the wheel along the line 5-5: of Figure 3 This toy is a mechanical toy representing a unicycle rider and consists briefly of a figure I supported over a wheel with legs of the figure disposed at opposite sides of the wheel and the feet connected with cranks of a pedal shaft which is driven by a spring motor within the wheel where it is hidden from view so that during opera-tion of the toy the rider appears to operate the-wheel.

Thewheel is hollow. and has a side wall-formed by a metal disk 3 and a peripheral wall 4, vportions of which are bent inwardly to define an annular wall- 5 for the other. side of the wheel. 'It will be seen that the hollow wheel will be closed at one side but open at its other side, as"shown clearly- Figure 2. The side wall '3 is of greater diameter than the peripheral wall with its marginal portions projecting radially therefrom and causing the wheel to be disposed at a slight trans-- V verse'incline when-set upon a floor; It will thusbe-seen that when the toy is in use the wheel will travel in a circular path. 'If the wall 3 is of the same diameter as the peripheral wall," the toy willtravel straight ahead when in use, or, if only a portion of the sidewall is projected beyond the peripheral wall; the toy will be'caused to have a wobbling motion when in use;

Within the hollow wheel is disposed aframe or support formed of sheetmetal'and having side disks 6 and 1 connected by an arcuate strip 8. The frame is, therefore, U-shape'd in vertical cross section and in its lower portion carriesa weight 9 which serves to prevent the toy from tipping over when in use and retains the support in the position shownin Figures 2 and 3. A pedal shaft 10; is journaled through the support with its end portions projecting from opposite sides thereof, and referring to Figure 2 it will'be seen that one end portion of the pedal shaft passes through the center of the side wall 3 of the traction wheel where it is soldered or otherwise firmly fixed to the central portion of this wall, as shown at II. By this arrangement the pedalshaft canrotate relative to the support but the traction Will'tur'n with the pedal shaft. 7 v

The figure 1 may be formed of metal or any other-"materialand, while it has been illustrated as a'representation of a boy, it willbeunderstoodthat it may represent a monkey; bear; or any other animal-desired; The bodyof the figure is hollow with its lower end secured to a bottom .12 by' rivets l3 which pass through inturned-ears Hl at opposite sides of thebody and also pass through inturned upper ends of brackets l5 and It. The bracket l 5;has its lower end loosely engaged about the pedal shaft and the bracket It has its lower end portion bent inwardly and rivetedjor otherwise secured to the side plate '5 of the support 7 exposed through the open side of the traction wheel; At opposite sides of thefigure the bottom isformed with extensions constituting pin-1 tles I1 uponwhich the upper leg sections l8 are, pivotally' mounted and these leg sections 'or'mernbers have their lower ends pivoted to lower leg members or sections l9 terminating in feet having bearings 2B loosely receiving the cranks 2ill' of the pedal shaft 'so that when the ped'alshaft' is rotated the legs will be moved and givejthe impression that the figure is operating the uni cycle. f p A spring motor is employed for imparting rounder influence of the spring and the pedal shaft the unicycle.

nected with and moved by the pedal shaft when tation to the pedal shaft and traction wheel which turns with the shaft, and referring to Figure 4 it will be seen that the coiled spring 22 of this motor has its outer end anchored to one end of the arcuate strip 8 and its inner end secured in a slot formed through a winding shaft 23. This shaft is journaled through the side plates of the support and projects from the open side of the traction wheel with its outer end provided with a finger hold 24 so that the shaft may be rotated to wind the spring. A clutch disc 25 having a tooth 26 struck therefrom is firmly secured to the winding shaft and is formed with a grooved hub 21 about which is loosely mounted a gear 28' formed with openings 29 arranged in a' circular path, as shown in Figure 3. Asthe Winding shaft is turned to wind the spring, the tooth or pawl moves from one opening to another,'but when the spring has been wound and the finger hold of this shaft is released to permit the spring to unwind, the ratchet gear 28 will turn withthe disc. The ratchet gear meshes with a small pinion 30 fixed to the pedal shaft and formed integral with a gear 3i which, in its turn, meshes with a pinion 32 carried by a shaft 33. The shaft 33 is rotatably supported between the side plates of the support and carries an escapement wheel 34 which cooperates with an escapement pawl 35 to resist rotation of the shaft 33 and thus cause the winding shaft to be retarded in its rotation caused to rotate at a desired rate of speed.

It will thus be seen that when the spring has been wound, the toy may be set upon a floor or other surface and when it is released rotary motion will be transmitted from the winding shaft to the pedal shaft, and as the pedal shaft rotates the traction wheel will be caused to turn with the pedal shaft and thelegs moved in a manner giving the impression that the rider is operating The weight 9 prevents the toy from tipping over and as the marginal portion of the side wall 3 of the traction wheel projects from the peripheral wall thereof, the unicycle will travel in a circular path.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A toy comprising a unicycle including a traction wheel having a wide peripheral wall and at one side extended beyond the said peripheral wall to cause the wheel to travel in a circular path when in motion, and means for imparting rotation to the wheel having a pedal shaft constituting an element thereof, and a figure supported over said wheel and having legs conthe traction wheel is in motion. 2. A toy comprising a traction wheel open a one side and having a sidewall at its other side and a peripheral wall carried by the side wall in spaced relation to margins thereof whereby marthrough said support and having a portion extending through the side wall and fixed thereto to cause rotation of the wheel with the shaft, said. shaft having its end portions provided with cranks disposed externally of the traction wheel at opposite sides of the wheel, a motor carried by said support for imparting rotation to said pedal shaft, 2. figure supported over said wheel and having movable legs at opposite sides of the wheel connected with the cranks of the pedal shaft and moved when the shaft is rotated, and means for imparting rotary motion to said pedal shaft.

3. A toy comprising a hollow traction wheel open at one side and having a side wall at the other side of the wheel and a peripheral wall carried by the side wall and formed with a marginal flange constituting a partial wall for the open side of the wheel, a support housed in said wheel and having a portion constituting a shield for the open side of the wheel disposed within the wheel adjacent the open side thereof and of greater dimensions than the opening of the wheel, a pedal shaft rotatably carried by said support and having a portion extending through the side wall of said wheel and fixed thereto .with its endportions projecting from opposite sides of the wheel and provided with cranks, "spring actuated means carried by said support within the wheel and concealed by the shield and operatively connected with said shaft for rotating the shaft and wheel, and a figure over said wheel having movable legs connected with the cranks and moved by the cranks when the pedal shaft is rotating. '7

4. A toy comprising a hollow traction wheel open at one side and having a'side wall at its other side and a peripheral wall, a support in said wheel having side plates and a weight secured between lower portions of the side plates, a pedal shaft journaled through the side plates of said support with its end portions projecting frorrl opposite sides of said wheel and provided with cranks, a portion of said shaft extending through an opening formed in the side wall of the wheel and fixed thereto to cause the wheel to turn with the pedal shaft, a spring motor carried by said support and geared to the shaft for rotating the shaft, and a figure supported over said wheel and having movable legs connected with the cranks and moved by the cranks when the pedal shaft is rotating.

5. A toy comprising a hollow traction wheel open at one side and having a side wall at its other side and a peripheral wall, a support in said wheel having side plates and a weight secured between lower portions of the side plates, a pedal shaft journaled through the side plates of said support with its end portions projecting from opposite sides of said wheel and provided with cranks, said shaft having a portion extending through'an opening formed in the side wall and secured to the side wall to cause the wheel to rotate with the pedal shaft, a winding shaft journaled through the side plates of said support and projecting from the wheel at the open side thereof, a spring coiled about said winding shaft with one end anchored to the shaft and its other end anchored to the support, a pawl carried by said winding disk, a gear loose about the winding shaft and having teeth for engagement by the latch, a pinion carried by said pedal shaft and meshing with said gear, an auxiliary shaft rotatably supported by said side plates, intermeshing gears carried by the pedal shaft and auxiliary shaft, an escapement disk carried by said auxiliary shaft, an escapement pawl carried by said pedal shaft for engaging the escapement disk, and a figure supported over said wheel and having movable legs connected with the cranks and moved by the cranks when the pedal shaft is rotating.

6. A toy comprising a hollow traction wheel open at one side and having a side wall at its other side and a peripheral wall, a support in said wheel having side plates and a weight secured between lower portions of the side plates, a pedal shaft joumaled through the side plates of said support with its end portions projecting from opposite sides of said wheel and provided with cranks, a portion of said shaft extending through an opening formed in the side wall of the wheel and fixed thereto to cause the wheel to turn with the pedal shaft, a spring motor carried by said support and geared to the shaft for rotating the 10 shaft a figure over said wheel and having de- .pending supports at opposite sides of said wheel, 1

one depending support having its lower end 7 loosely engaged about a portion of the pedal shaft projecting from the side Wall of the Wheel and the other having its lower end secured to a side plate of the support exposed at the'open side of the wheel, and movable legs for saidfigure connected with the cranks and moved by thecranks when the pedal shaft is rotating.

KERMIT E. BOISSONEAU. 

